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In 2021, 132 farmers in cities within Clarke County received a total of $1.2 million in 150 farm subsidies, a 33.7% increase from 2020, when the total was $882,264 in 267 farm subsidies.
Though farm subsidies support agriculture in the U.S., pumping $7 trillion into the economy, they are not without controversy.
The American Action Forum discovered that the most highly subsidized crops - corn, soy, wheat, and rice - are often consumed in highly processed ways, which leads to unhealthy eating habits and obesity, while the fruits and vegetables needed for a healthy diet are rarely subsidized.
"We are consuming more calories, fats, sodium, and sugars, and not enough beneficial nutrients and vitamins," Tara O'Neill Hayes wrote. "It is critical that both policymakers and the American public understand the influence that federal agricultural subsidies have on our food supply and diet and, in turn, our nutrition and health."
Farm subsidies have also been criticized for assisting the highest-earning agricultural businesses, not local farmers on their family farms who are barely getting by.
Kimberly Amadeo of The Balance said farmer subsidies "help high-income corporations, not poor rural farmers. Most of the money goes toward large agribusinesses."
The U.S. has provided farm subsidies since the Great Depression to assist farmers who weather price fluctuations and disasters, to help maintain consistent farming across the country.
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Agriculture, LLC | $18,889 | $58,670 | 210.6% |
| Gerald B. Mathews | $131,968 | $53,567 | -59.4% |
| C&H Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Double J. Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Hare Timber and Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Sellers Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| T and J Trucking Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| T&W Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Whatley Timber Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| BM&S Timber, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Black Sheep Woodlands | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jerry Hawk Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Lower Dixie Timber, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| South Alabama Wood, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Mcconnells Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Mike Gates Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| William A. Richardson | $118,504 | $52,340 | -55.8% |
| Robert Shane Morgan | $90,005 | $36,954 | -58.9% |
| Kevin L Cox | $0 | $32,543 | -- |
| Cousin's Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $27,873 | -- |
| Scotty's Auto Parts & Salvage, Inc. | $0 | $19,895 | -- |
| Cole Cattle Company, LLC | $21,065 | $14,479 | -31.3% |
| Alfred L. Wright | $0 | $12,880 | -- |
| Charles Richardson | $0 | $8,298 | -- |
| Bradford Brothers, LLC | $26,400 | $7,650 | -71% |
| Deloris Johnson Richardson | $0 | $7,188 | -- |
| Henry L. Smiley | $2,212 | $6,981 | 215.6% |
| Keith A. Furrow | $9,468 | $4,900 | -48.2% |
| William E. Powell | $3,641 | $3,641 | 0% |
| Annie R. Richburg | $2,969 | $2,969 | 0% |
| Russell Gunter | $8,973 | $2,968 | -66.9% |
| John Ray Pipkin | $11,232 | $2,746 | -75.6% |
| John Wood | $8,260 | $2,369 | -71.3% |
| Wayne Faile | $13,145 | $2,360 | -82% |
| Ryan Williams | $7,436 | $2,358 | -68.3% |
| Sam Hughston | $9,845 | $2,287 | -76.8% |
| James R. Hudson | $10,201 | $2,272 | -77.7% |
| James F. Dixon | $7,947 | $2,222 | -72% |
| Jerry Hawk | $7,931 | $1,867 | -76.5% |
| Patrick Kidder | $3,927 | $1,735 | -55.8% |
| Phillip Stringer | $8,518 | $1,708 | -79.9% |
| Randy Cline | $6,132 | $1,704 | -72.2% |
| Robert D. Keahey | $5,302 | $1,622 | -69.4% |
| Reginald Bradford | $5,665 | $1,562 | -72.4% |
| John Goodman | $2,781 | $1,433 | -48.5% |
| Anthony Pugh | $3,887 | $1,406 | -63.8% |
| Lewis Properties, LLC | $5,874 | $1,404 | -76.1% |
| Clinton Harold Anderson | $7,337 | $1,380 | -81.2% |
| William J. Hamilton | $6,292 | $1,350 | -78.5% |
| Joseph Rawls | $1,317 | $1,317 | 0% |
| Ottis James | $5,842 | $1,314 | -77.5% |
| Herbert Newton | $3,069 | $1,246 | -59.4% |
| Larry Pope | $5,800 | $1,208 | -79.2% |
| John S. Richburg Jr. | $1,184 | $1,184 | 0% |
| George R. Clark | $6,761 | $1,180 | -82.5% |
| Jason M. Clark | $3,628 | $1,154 | -68.2% |
| Thomas Wayne Leonard | $4,675 | $1,121 | -76% |
| John Cox | $6,254 | $1,096 | -82.5% |
| Michael Darnell Harper | $2,904 | $1,079 | -62.8% |
| Timothy K. Graham | $2,178 | $1,070 | -50.9% |
| Bobby Wayne Brooks | $5,018 | $1,016 | -79.8% |
| Willard Pugh | $2,211 | $984 | -55.5% |
| Jackie Rush | $4,202 | $975 | -76.8% |
| Patricia A. Young | $9,225 | $960 | -89.6% |
| Joey Hare | $1,848 | $936 | -49.4% |
| Thamus L Douglas | $4,163 | $898 | -78.4% |
| Mason Duelon Dunagan | $5,309 | $896 | -83.1% |
| John A. Beck | $3,718 | $892 | -76% |
| Charles E. Smith | $3,168 | $884 | -72.1% |
| Jimmy Counselman | $4,140 | $844 | -79.6% |
| Ronald C. Atchison | $1,584 | $828 | -47.7% |
| Patricia A. Bradley | $0 | $825 | -- |
| Wash Phelon Sr. | $6,318 | $819 | -87% |
| John L. Harrison | $4,928 | $810 | -83.6% |
| Michael S. Ledkins | $2,618 | $794 | -69.7% |
| Rocky Phillips | $4,542 | $788 | -82.7% |
| Kenneth Lee Harrell | $3,184 | $774 | -75.7% |
| Jonathan L. McLendon | $4,852 | $744 | -84.7% |
| Clinton Hawkins | $1,002 | $744 | -25.7% |
| Jamestican Parham | $1,551 | $725 | -53.3% |
| Melvin Pritchett | $0 | $715 | -- |
| John Phillip Hasty | $3,278 | $700 | -78.6% |
| William S. Gibbons | $3,703 | $688 | -81.4% |
| Jimmy Padgett | $1,749 | $678 | -61.2% |
| Stanley R. Beard | $646 | $646 | 0% |
| Earl King | $2,211 | $638 | -71.1% |
| Roy W. Campbell | $2,618 | $638 | -75.6% |
| Burdette N. MacDougall | $2,585 | $637 | -75.4% |
| Woodie Dunigan | $396 | $596 | 50.5% |
| David Cumlander | $2,238 | $577 | -74.2% |
| Billy Ray Brooks | $3,229 | $573 | -82.3% |
| Ray R. Clark | $2,794 | $572 | -79.5% |
| Stanley Turk | $3,780 | $572 | -84.9% |
| Kenneth Cunningham | $13,568 | $532 | -96.1% |
| James Sidney Andrews | $1,320 | $526 | -60.2% |
| Gloria Martin | $2,134 | $516 | -75.8% |
| Calvin Donovan Wright | $1,254 | $502 | -60% |
| Robert E. Overstreet | $1,320 | $483 | -63.4% |
| Joseph Allen Reed | $1,749 | $483 | -72.4% |
| Donna Jean Powell | $2,042 | $456 | -77.7% |
| Danny Brown | $1,463 | $448 | -69.4% |
| Joshua Goldman | $2,233 | $447 | -80% |
| Robert Larry Jones | $1,870 | $446 | -76.1% |
| Bonita G. Deas | $858 | $438 | -49% |
| Burel Boykin | $4,102 | $435 | -89.4% |
| John C. Bagley | $2,840 | $419 | -85.2% |
| John B. Lyles | $792 | $414 | -47.7% |
| Ralph B. Armistead | $1,562 | $408 | -73.9% |
| Jerry D. Drinkard | $2,143 | $408 | -81% |
| Miller J. Powell | $957 | $388 | -59.5% |
| Clay Overstreet | $1,241 | $376 | -69.7% |
| H & H Gibby Farm, LLC | $2,014 | $363 | -82% |
| Jeffrey T. Gates | $825 | $360 | -56.4% |
| Casey Powell | $1,134 | $349 | -69.2% |
| Sybil G. Shepherd | $3,406 | $346 | -89.8% |
| Wilske Gamble Jr. | $1,351 | $346 | -74.4% |
| Seaborn Hicks | $2,936 | $345 | -88.2% |
| Chris Harrell | $792 | $332 | -58.1% |
| Everett Leo Williams | $3 | $330 | 10,900% |
| Charlotte Leonard | $1,639 | $304 | -81.5% |
| Michael Larry Bumpers | $1,001 | $298 | -70.2% |
| Jacques Dunning | $2,959 | $294 | -90.1% |
| Billy Overton | $703 | $242 | -65.6% |
| Jean-Marc Prescott | $495 | $228 | -53.9% |
| Lamark M. Herring | $1,714 | $225 | -86.9% |
| Harvey Alden Steadham | $1,038 | $225 | -78.3% |
| Douglas Craig Drinkard | $1,371 | $128 | -90.7% |
| George W. Jones | $528 | $104 | -80.3% |
| Deanie S. Presswood | $25 | $83 | 232% |
| Charity Phillips | $2,527 | $52 | -97.9% |
| Ruth Williamson | $893 | $33 | -96.3% |
| Jane K. Loper | $95 | $16 | -83.2% |
| Kyle Patton | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Glenn Padgett | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Nancy F. Richburg | $670 | $0 | -100% |
| Doris Hacketts | $1 | $0 | -100% |
| Robbin McKee | $1,399 | $0 | -100% |
| Alton Drinkard | $1,369 | $0 | -100% |
| C & L Cattle | $25,062 | $0 | -100% |
| Dan Drinkard | $601 | $0 | -100% |
| Elaine Cline | $1,156 | $0 | -100% |
| Greg Bradford Hare | $1,122 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael R. Thompson | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Mike Ledkins | $26,103 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert P. Bryant | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Stefanie Ann Stauffacher | $637 | $0 | -100% |
| TRI County Feeders, LLC | $37,996 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $882,264 | $1,179,294 | 33.7% |
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